Chatter Of The Squirrel

Strawberry Fields

Went up to Arthur’s Seat. Just a hill-top where you can get a nice view of the country side and the bay.

And somewhere close by, there’s a strawberry orchard. For an AUD$5 entry fee, you get to go in and pick yourself 500gm of strawberries.

Useful tip #1, walk to the patch that’s furthest away. Logically, fewer people take the simple effort to walk that extra distance, so you get juicier ripe berries there.

Tip #2, grasp the stalk and pull. You don’t want to bruise the fruit when picking it.

Tip #3, insect repellent!

Summer means bugs and flies. Swarms of irritating flies. Everywhere.

Even in the city, those flies will come and kiss your face or attempt to pollinate your nostril with something nasty. Why they do this is a mystery to me. I certainly don’t smell like food.

One theory is that they keep the city too clean, there’s not enough dog turd or garbage lying around to keep them occupied.

So I keep looking for one of those outback hats with the wide leather brim and the dozen or so corks hanging from short strings all around the brim. The little corks prepetually swinging like a horse’s tail and keeping the bugs at bay. I would look stupid, but my nostrils will be bug-free.

Alas, no luck looking for these hats. They must look so macho that they are sold out everywhere…

Dinner was pizza.

Aussie servings are HUGE!

Even for me.

Anyway, dinner was memorable for me: a large fisherman’s basket with lots of juicy calamari rings that no one else wanted to eat…

Melbourne in Summer

This is my second time in Melbourne.

The first time was several years ago, in winter. Yet somehow, I don’t remember being quite so miserable the last time. 14-27 degrees Celsius isn’t my idea of a summer. And there’s the wind chill factor…

But cold is relative. I still got more than a fair stare of half exposed bosoms in the streets of Melbourne.

Enough with the reminescing…

Am in Melbourne this time around with my parents to attend my sis’ convocation. Was going to be a nice family thing. Then four other relatives wanted to come along, since they aren’t literally equipped to navigate international travel without help, and this was a rare opportunity for them. Thus it became a circus.

We wasted no time doing the touristy stuff. Started with a picnic at the Dandenong Mountains. An interesting picnic spot because of the ‘wild’ birds there. They’ve no fear of people, and will eagerly perch on your arms for sunflower seeds. Makes for interesting photos and picnic companions. But if you’re not careful, they’ll nibble at your macadamia cookies as well.

It’s Me!bourne

Uneventful flight to Melbourne.

Many hours on plane cramped between old people.

But there’s an LCD console that plays movies. Good chance to catch up on all the cool stuff that’s neither worth paying to watch, nor worth the effort to download.

There’s Must Love Dogs with John Cusack.

I’ll invent a new metaphor for movies like this: It’s like sex with a $10 prostitute.

It’s a love story with a mechanical plot, just going through the motions. Boy. Girl. Dogs. Family members. Token best friends. Comic. Token love triangle. A completely unrealistic ending with the girl swimming after Cusack on a row-boat. Riiiiiight!!!

There’s Initial D.

It’s a movie with a plot as matured as the Manga. But some credit needs to be given to the director and cinematographer. The techniques used gave it a suitable manga feel to it, and not so overdone as Ang Lee’s The Hulk.

There’s The Librarian.

I’m tired at this point. Picked a movie where I didn’t need to concentrate on the plot. A bookish Indiana, a downsized Lara Croft, Kelly Hu, and a bunch of bad guys who can inexplicably materialise anywhere in the world 3 seconds after the hero finds the magic artifact. Yea, the best tracker in the Amazon can track through a collapsed bridge, a waterfall and through Shangrila.

Finally, Trainman.

Supposedly, a blockbuster in Japan. Story of an Otaku -(something like a Jap version of a Trekkie, but with an anime obsession)- who meets a decent girl, and tries to woo her, with all the moral support from his other Otaku friends on IRC.

Very interesting story-telling. Was enjoying the movie up to the point when the flight attendant took away my headphones. But I could still go on with just the subtitles, until the screen blanked out when the plane was making its final approach. So I didn’t quite find out what the girl says to the geek’s wish to be more than friends. GAAAAAAAAA!!!

I’m hoping the program will still be there on my flight back to KL….

Arrival in Melbourne airport. 2045H local time. Bought a bunch of smokes. Greeted at the baggage claim by an adorable beagle (that’s my guess, I’m not a dog person.) Navigated through their strict quarantine procedures. Managed to cart in enough stock to set up a grocer! Luckily, the instant mee, crackers, dried cuttlefish, chinese herbs etc didn’t get confiscated.

Outside temperature was in the teens. And the wind-chill factor makes it really miserable. This is summer?

Happy Birthday to me……….

…Self explanatory post…

The Order of the Stick – followup

And in the newest comic,

Panel 3:
“It means my speech is all funny-sounding.”

Panel 4:
“Come again?”

Panel 6:
“Can somebody please get weepy transsexual off me?”

“WEEPY TRANSSEXUAL”!!!

That word stymied me for a bit. Thought I made a mistake somewhere.

This cryptogram was considerably tougher, having fewer words to work with, first of all…

And, this comic:
Panel 1:
“Maybe you’re right…”

Deduced this from context.